Vincent nodded slightly. "Alright, understood."
Seeing that he hadn't given a clear answer, Klein felt disappointed inside. Just then, Audrey offered an idea. "Oh! I could recommend the bodyguard I used before. He's a Sequence 5 Beyonder, and he even has an extraordinary item that lets him 'teleport.' Even if he runs into danger and can't win the fight, he can still escape."
Klein felt his interest pick up — a Sequence 5 alone wouldn't solve his problem, but a "teleport" ability he could use to escape at any time was a different matter entirely.
"Alright, I'll trouble you then, Miss Justice."
Audrey said cheerfully, "No trouble at all. Like Mr. Lover said, we're companions after all." She paused. "Oh right, Mr. World, what was that second request?"
Klein, operating the World, raised a hand and materialized a portrait. "Miss Justice, Mr. Lover — I'd like to learn everything about this person. What I know so far is that he should currently be in Backlund."
"Huh?"
Something clicked for Audrey. This... isn't this the face Miss Natasha uses when she transforms with her extraordinary power? Is Mr. World looking for Miss Natasha?
But she didn't say anything. Though Mr. World was also a companion of the Tarot Club, he'd only just joined, while she and Miss Natasha had known each other for a long time. She knew where her loyalties lay.
So she asked casually, "Mr. World, who is this person? Why are you looking into him?"
Klein shook his head. "I currently know nothing about him, and I don't know if he's friend or foe. The reason I'm putting out this request is that not long ago I discovered this person had been secretly watching me."
He paused, then gritted his teeth and said, "I'm willing to pay 300 pounds for the investigation."
The reason he'd chosen to ask people at the Tarot Club for help was that, given this person's identity as a transmigrator, with Mr. Fool keeping things in check here, any problems could be handled promptly if needed.
"I see."
Audrey put on a look of realization, but inwardly she felt a flicker of excitement: Miss Natasha secretly watching Mr. World — I'm so curious why!
Wait a second!
Doesn't that mean I could find out "World"'s real identity from Miss Natasha? Maybe without even having to meet him in person?
Heh, first time attending the gathering and I've already dug up someone's real identity as a "senior member." Mr. World... you're too green for this!
"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for you."
Vincent also nodded. "I'll keep an eye out too." — Another classic case of "investigating myself," courtesy of the Lord of Mysteries.
Just then, they all heard the sound of the table being tapped lightly. From within the thick grey fog, Klein's soft laugh came: "Let's end today's gathering here."
Everyone stood and bowed. "Your will is our wish."
Klein waved a hand, cutting the connection, and quietly watched everyone's hazy figures dissolve into light and scatter. Only then did he lean back and let out a slow breath.
"Never expected the Lady Lover to be Emperor Roselle's daughter."
He stared into the depths of the grey fog, murmuring to himself. "Did she really never learn Chinese from His Majesty?"
Klein thought for a moment, then raised his hand and materialized the diary he'd read earlier. In it, the Emperor had written, in a very firm tone, that he would never teach Bernadette Chinese.
But...
Klein recalled the questions Bernadette had raised after submitting diary entries in the past — questions that seemed to bear some relation to the content of the entries themselves. He'd had that suspicion before, but had later decided it was probably just coincidence.
Except now, thinking back on it, "coincidence" no longer seemed like an adequate explanation.
So, assuming Bernadette did understand Chinese — why would she go through the trouble of showing him the Emperor's diary and then asking questions on top of it?
Something clicked in Klein's mind: Could it be that her real intent in submitting the diary was never about its contents at all — but about the questions she asked me afterward?
He quickly ran back through Bernadette's past questions, and it wasn't hard to draw a conclusion: her questions, when summed up, seemed to circle around two points — where Roselle came from, and where Roselle went.
"And it's not just that."
Klein's fingers absently traced the armrest of his chair. "There's also... her testing me."
By now, she'd likely already probed out everything she wanted to know, which was why she'd decided to reveal her identity to him today... though of course, that too was another kind of test.
And after going through all that trouble, she surely wanted to use the Fool to accomplish some goal of her own — a goal that, nine times out of ten, had something to do with Emperor Roselle.
"Ugh."
Klein rubbed his temples, troubled. Niece, all your probing is pointless — because this "Fool" of yours is just a Sequence 7 with an empty façade. What business do I have getting mixed up in the affairs of a demigod like you?
By that point, all he'd really be able to do was introduce her to the "Lord of Chaos."
...
Meanwhile.
After Klein cut the connection, Vincent returned directly to Bernadette's body, without lingering above the grey fog the way he had the past few weeks.
"You're back?"
Bernadette said flatly.
"Huh? You don't seem the least bit surprised that you couldn't make it to today's Tarot gathering?"
"I just made some predictions in advance."
She didn't elaborate further, and instead asked, "Did you explain my identity to the Fool?"
"Yes. His answer was that if Emperor Roselle is still alive, he'd very much like to meet him and become friends. As for you, he said he's willing to offer some help too."
"Just that he currently can't interfere too much with reality — there's relatively little he can actually do."
Bernadette was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "Does that mean, when it comes to stopping George III's advancement to Black Emperor, he might not be able to help either?"
"That... you should just ask the Fool yourself directly."
Vincent stood up. "Let's set that aside for now — Little Sun still needs saving."
"What happened to him?"
Vincent quickly ran through Derrick's current situation while setting up the ritual. "If we don't act, Little Sun and the others might end up contaminated by the True Creator."
"He only went to investigate the Angel of Time and joined that temple exploration team because of me. The least I can do is help where I can."
Bernadette said flatly, "He chose to take that risk for the sake of the Sun pathway's future recipes and materials. If he ends up contaminated, or even loses control and dies as a result, that's on no one but him. Everyone has to answer for their own actions."
"I know, I know, but don't I still need him to keep searching for information on the 'Angel of Time'?"
As he spoke, Vincent used his spirituality to light the two candles in front of him, chanting in the ancient Hermes language:
"O Fool who does not belong to this era;You are the mysterious sovereign above the grey fog;You are the King of Fortune, Yellow and Black.Your faithful servant beseeches your gaze; beseeches you accept his offering; beseeches you open the gate of your realm."
In an instant, surging spirituality whipped up a fierce wind, staining the surroundings silver-white and deep black. The candle flame representing "the Fool" swelled, then tore open an illusory door of normal size.
Vincent removed the cross bracelet wound around his wrist and held it in both hands before the open illusory door. His palms lightened, and the bracelet vanished into the door.
A few seconds later, the illusory door abruptly vanished, and the room returned to normal.
Only then did Vincent speak. "Oh, right — a new member joined the gathering today, codename 'the World.' He put out two requests. The first was that he has a friend who recently got caught up in something with the Witch cult and needs a bodyguard."
"What exactly happened?"
"He said if I'm interested in the request, I can ask Mr. Fool to arrange a private meeting to learn more."
Bernadette asked, "From your tone, it sounds like you're interested?"
"A little."
Vincent grinned. "The main reason is his second request — he said he'd recently been secretly watched by someone, and he wants to know everything about that person."
"Guess who that someone is?"
To be continued…
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